Hain Celestial Group announced it has embarked upon several actions to follow the Focus pillar of its Hain Reimagined business strategy today, including elimination of SKUs to simplify its portfolio, consolidation of operations, and streamlining of its co-manufacturing network. The expectation is that these moves will ease annual costs and generate cash flow to pay down debt and drive gross margin expansion.
The company’s global SKU reduction efforts have already begun, the company said, with the removal of 6% of its global SKUs since July 2023. For instance, Hain announced the sale of Thinsters cookies in April in alignment with these efforts.
Reductions are split almost equally between North America and international businesses, and they include products across snacks, baby and kids products, beverages, meal prep and personal care. The Personal Care business is taking the largest hit (removal of 62% of underperforming SKUs in that portfolio). In Meal Prep, the company is streamlining the Linda McCartney Plant-Based (Meat Free) portfolio to focus on frozen products sold in Europe and the UK.
The Thinsters sale allowed the company to reduce distribution center needs by two facilities and also removed a co-manufacturer from the Snacks network, and Hain also consolidated its Yves Plant-Based (Meat Free) manufacturing plants in Canada in late 2023. Personal Care business also will eliminate five co-manufacturers from its network and consolidate manufacturing down to one facility, the company announced.
Hain also ceased all production and operations within its non-strategic joint venture in India, and it will continue to supply products in the IMEA region through the International operating segment. It will continue to identify opportunities to continue along the Focus pillar of its Hain Reimagined strategy and expects to share further details during its third quarter earnings call on May 8, 2024.
